Mistake
by coffeebuddha
Summary: Several years after their divorce, Victoria sees Carlton from a distance and wonders if things could have been different between them. Expanded to a two shot, because Carlton's too much of a detective to not notice his ex-wife watching him.
1. Victoria

Victoria loved Carlton. Communication, common interests, dreams for the future-all of these had been a problem, but love had never been. The first time they'd met, she'd thought he was stiff and boring, but then he'd smiled and his entire face and those gorgeous blue eyes had just lit up and a little voice in her head had whispered, '_This one. This is the one we've been looking for.' _

It had been nearly five years since their divorce when she happened to see him from a distance on the beach. He was in civvies-not a suit with slightly more casual shoes, but honest to God casual clothes-and looked more relaxed than she'd seen him since the early days of their marriage. He was talking to two other men, and as she edged a bit closer, she recognized them as the 'psychic duo' that worked for the SBPD. She was too far away to catch their words, but she could see the corners of Carlton's mouth twitching in a barely suppressed smile.

It took a couple of minutes before she saw the little girl approaching them. She was two, maybe three years old, and she was toddling toward the men as quickly as she could without falling on her face. A young woman with the same coloring as the child was a few feet behind her. The woman looked about the same age as the psychics. Victoria assumed one of them must have been the father.

But instead of heading for the younger men, the little girl ran straight to Carlton and threw her short arms around one of his legs. He broke into an actual smile as he lifted the toddler onto his hip and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. And then the woman was on his other side and his free arm was around her waist, and as the two of them leaned into each other, Victoria suddenly couldn't swallow because of the lump in her throat.

The woman was clearly younger and prettier than her, which might have stung her ego a bit more if her entire world hadn't narrowed to her ex-husband and the little girl he was doting on.

He hadn't wanted children. Victoria was certain that he hadn't.

Only…

Only, now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember him ever saying or doing anything that would make her think that he didn't.

Only, now that she thought about it, it seemed like by the end most of their fights had really been one person events with her screaming both sides and putting words in his mouth while Carlton just stood there with that angry, confused look on his face until he couldn't take it any more and escaped to the SBPD.

Only, now that she thought about it, excepting their divorce dinner, she couldn't remember the last time Carlton had actually made any sort of effort to tell her what he was feeling or wanted.

He'd wanted to try again, to start over. And while intellectually she knew that no amount of promises to change or second chances would have made them work out in the end, she couldn't help but wonder. What if she _had_ taken him back? What if he _had_ actually been capable of making all those changes he'd promised that night? If she'd just taken the chance, could she have been the one down there with him now? The one making him _happy_?

Intellectually, she knew. Children weren't a quick fix for a marriage, especially for one as broken as theirs had been. They'd had love, but no real friendship, camaraderie, or even real interest in each other as people. They wouldn't have worked out. If they'd kept trying, it only would have hurt them more.

But still, as she looked at him, with a smile lighting up his face and those eyes, she could hear that little voice again.

'_We might have made a mistake.'_

***

Kristin: I haven't done much writing lately and I churned this out in about half an hour, so I know it isn't exactly good. Please be gentle if you review. Constructive criticism would be _very _appreciated.


	2. Carlton

It was easy to pretend that he didn't see her. In all honesty, she'd caught his eye at least a full minute before he'd caught hers. If Spencer or Guster noticed his momentary distraction, they didn't mention it, although Spencer's eyes had gone briefly intense and serious in that way he usually only managed right before he had one of his 'visions'. Carlton's training kicked in and he watched her in his peripheral vision while still appearing to keep his full attention on the other two men. Spencer was talking about some private case he'd just finished, his voice and gestures both larger than life, while Guster rolled his eyes and occasionally tried to correct some of his partner's more outrageous claims. Carlton clamped down on a smile and tried to pretend that the two weren't growing on him.

Victoria was practically gaping at him, and for a second he shifted awkwardly in his civvies. One of her biggest complaints had always been that he didn't 'unwind' enough, never seemed to really relax. He was a little uncomfortable having her see him like this, his chest tightening in a weird mixture of pride and embarrassment that she seemed so surprised that he was capable of being casual.

Honestly, Carlton was a little surprised himself. It seemed like it had been a lifetime since the last time he'd even thought about Victoria, and to suddenly see her again...

It didn't hurt.

He'd always expected it to hurt. After all, they'd been married. He'd loved her. He'd bared his heart to her and she'd torn it to shreds with just a thin folder of legal papers.

But it didn't hurt.

It had been years now since that night. He knew he'd changed, and not just because people-Spencer-liked to loudly point it out any time he did something he wouldn't have considered a handful of years ago. He'd noticed it himself. He would never be good at remembering special occasions, but he actually made an effort now. His once large store of vacation days was slowly but surely dwindling. He still worked late, but he was always home in time for a bedtime story.

And speaking of bedtime stories, Carlton couldn't stop his broad grin as he caught sight of his daughter and wife. He scooped the child up in his arms, still privately amazed that she actually let him. And then his wife was next to him and he was slipping an arm around her and leaning into her warmth and that last bit of tension in his shoulders eased.

If Victoria had looked surprised before, now she looked positively poleaxed. Carlton thought about calling her over, introducing her to everyone, maybe even thanking her. Because he was thankful to her. Yes, their marriage had ended, and not exactly amicably, even if he had made that last speech sound good, but he'd realized that she was right. Things just weren't working. Would never work. And even if it occasionally took Carlton a while to catch on, he was smart and could learn. So that's what he'd done. He'd taken everything from his first marriage-the good and the bad-and learned from it.

And the next time he'd fallen in love, he'd taken those lessons and put them to good use.

Carlton's fingers tightened slightly on his wife's hip as Victoria turned and walked away from the beach toward the boardwalk. A brief, nostalgic smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

He hoped she was happy.

***

Kristin: Okay, I _really_ did mean for this to be a one shot, but this popped into my head today and poked at me until I relented. As far as Carlton's new lady goes, feel free to interpret however you want. She wasn't originally intended to be anyone specific.

Many thanks to gnbrules and fan for their kind reviews!


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